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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 1:04a | [Mammalogy • 2024] Almost Two hundred Years of Monotypy and A poorly known Life History: Multiple Lineages of Furipterus (Chiroptera: Furipteridae) were Hidden by Rocks
Abstract The Thumbless bat Furipterus horrens (Cuvier, 1828) (Chiroptera: Furipteridae) is a tiny insectivorous bat species that has not undergone comprehensive systematic revisions, as taxonomic studies about this species are only represented by the middle XIX century description of F. caerulescens Tomes, 1856. Concurrently there also has been no assessment on the genetic diversity within the species along its distribution. We analyzed patterns of mitochondrial genetic variation of F. horrens under the prediction that structured populations could be associated with the naturally patchy distribution of these bats’ roosts. Our data revealed highly divergent lineages, with low haplotype sharing and indicating well-structured populations. For the phylogeny we recovered well-supported clades, and the outcome of species limits tests suggests the split of F. horrens into a complex of four to six putative species. Lineages recovered were mostly allopatric along South America, except for two sympatric populations from the low-medium Xingu River. Based on the outstandingly high genetic discontinuities found for Furipterus, we hypothesize that historical metapopulational arrangements composed of spatially structured populations with different degrees of isolation resulted in limited gene flow for at least part of the lineages found. The observed results may reflect a female-inherited variation at least partially related to yet unknown biological traits of Furipterus such as social structure, female philopatry or other biological characteristics. Whether part of these lineages represent separate full species needs further examination based on independent datasets (morphology and nuclear data) but it is now clear that Furipterus horrens is composed of distinct populations likely containing more than one species, a diversity that has remained virtually overlooked for over two centuries. Keywords: Thumbless bat, Rocky outcrop, Genetic variation, Species delimitation, Cave bats, Tree roost   Ligiane M. Moras, Carla C. Nobre, Santelmo Vasconcelos, Guilherme S. T. Garbino, Érica M. S. de Souza, Fabrício R. Santos, Guilherme Oliveira and Valéria da C. Tavares. 2024. Almost Two hundred Years of Monotypy and A poorly known Life History: Multiple Lineages of Furipterus (Chiroptera: Furipteridae) were Hidden by Rocks. Mammalian Biology. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s42991-024-00465-9   | ||||||
| 6:34a | [Entomology • 2022] Review of the Genera Rondoniella Kaszab, 1970 and Durandius Kaszab, 1970 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), with description of R. hosoishii sp. nov. from an ant nest in Cambodia
Abstract The enigmatic tenebrionid genera Rondoniella Kaszab, 1970 and Durandius Kaszab, 1970 are briefly reviewed and diagnosed. Rondoniella hosoishii sp. nov. is described based on specimens collected from a nest of the arboreal ant Crematogaster sewardi in Cambodia. Because of where R. hosoishii sp. nov. was collected and its specialized morphology, the members of Rondoniella and its close relative Durandius are considered to be myrmecophilous, as was suggested in the original description. They also have reduced mouthparts, which are unknown in other tenebrionids, and they might receive food from ants by trophallaxis. Cnemeplatiini, Indochina, Laos, myrmecophily, Pimeliinae, taxonomy, Thailand
Rondoniella hosoishii sp. nov. Etymology. The specific epithet is cordially dedicated to Dr. Shingo Hosoishi (Kyushu University), who collected the type series. Diagnosis. Rondoniella hosoishii sp. nov. is most closely similar to R. costata Kaszab, 1970 in color and general body shape, but distinguished from it by the lateral depression of the pronotum being narrower, the punctation onthe pronotum being finer, the striae on the elytra less clear, the tibiae being broader and less punctate, the tarsi being shorter and thicker. Munetoshi MARUYAMA and Kiyoshi ANDO. 2022. Review of the Genera Rondoniella Kaszab, 1970 and Durandius Kaszab, 1970 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), with description of R. hosoishii sp. nov. from an ant nest in Cambodia. Zootaxa. 5209(2); 293-300. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5209.2.9 | ||||||
| 2:46p | [Herpetology • 2023] Identity of the Holotype and Type Locality of Rhabdophis leonardi (Wall, 1923) (Colubridae: Natricinae), with notes on the morphology and natural history of the species in southwestern China
Abstract The original description of Natrix leonardi (currently Rhabdophis leonardi) by Frank Wall in 1923, based on a specimen from the “Upper Burma Hills,” lacked important morphological details that have complicated the assignment of recently collected material. Furthermore, although the holotype was never lost, its location has been misreported in one important taxonomic reference, leading to further confusion. We report the correct repository of the holotype (Natural History Museum, London), together with its current catalog number. We also describe key features of that specimen that were omitted from the original description, and provide new details on the morphology of the species, including sexual dichromatism unusual for the genus, based upon specimens from southern Sichuan, China. Rhabdophis leonardi is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: 15 or 17 DSR at midbody and 6 supralabials; distinct annulus around the neck, broad and red in males, and narrow and orange with a black border in females; dorsal ground color light green or olive; some lateral and dorsal scales possessing black edges, the frequency of black edges gradually increasing from anterior to posterior, forming irregular and ill-defined transverse black bands; eye with prominent green iris; black ventral spots with a red edge, most numerous at midbody but extending halfway down the length of the tail. In southwestern China, this species is frequently found at 1730–2230 m elevation. It has been documented to prey upon anuran amphibians, including toads. A recently published phylogenetic analysis showed this species to be deeply nested with the genus Rhabdophis, as a member of the R. nuchalis Group. That analysis also revealed the existence of two closely related but geographically distinct subclades in the molecular analysis, one of which may represent an unnamed taxon. Keywords: distribution, morphology, Natricidae, Sinlum Kaba, snakes, systematics
Shi-Jun Yang, Alan H. Savitzky, David J. Gower, V. Deepak, Akira Mori, Rahul Khot, Jing-Song Shi, Li Ding, Mian Hou, Hai-Yuan Xu, Qin Wang and Guang-Xiang Zhu. 2023. Identity of the Holotype and Type Locality of Rhabdophis leonardi (Wall, 1923) (Colubridae: Natricinae), with notes on the morphology and natural history of the species in southwestern China. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10032  |
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